Jedi's Pride
by Keyran Halcyon
Summary: Four Jedi Knights embark on a mission to infiltrate a Yuuhzan Vong position. The caves are swarming with murderous alien warriors, but something far more sinister hides in the shadows. Borrak Creyn must overcome all if he is to survive to gain Jedi pride.
1. Chapter 1

**Prologue**

The darkness was all consuming. He could see nothing. He could feel nothing. It felt as if the last tendrils of life, so bright, so pure, had be bled from him.

Then there was a throbbing like distant thunder. It came again on steady rhythm, growing in intensity. The angry quaking sent a wave down his body with each throb.

Now the thunder was deafening, pounding his head, his heart, and his entire frame with a force that threatened to crush him.

With a suddenness that threatened to overwhelm him, Jek Va'Lynne's eyes flashed open. Suddenly he was keenly aware of his surroundings; painfully so. All around him was buffeting, deafening noise and furious, manic movement.

This was war.

He smelled ozone and felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up as blaster bolts flew, menacingly close, past his head, striking their targets to the ground behind him. He felt the concussion and the slight peppering of shrapnel, as an explosion threw the bodies of those unlucky enough to be nearby, whirling into the air. He heard the cries of the routed, retreating troops as they ran past him, fleeing the desperate battle, falling back to more defensive positions.

Then he heard a nearly forgotten sound, like the whining cry of some deranged, mechanical beast, as the all too familiar shapes materialized in the distance.

Tie fighters.

The infamous weapons of death made a low level run over the battlefield, veering slightly to bring a large troop carrier into their sites before turning it to smoking wreckage with their blasters. Jek felt a chill run down his back as they passed, loudly, over head.

Still, on he trudged over the marred and deformed terrain, two other Jedi and team of elite commandos, all of steal, followed resolutely in his wake. On they pushed, towards the massive rise ahead and their ultimate goal, the organic seeming, yet obviously un-natural temple at its apex. The temple seemed to have been pulled from the very terrain of the hill, raised by some wicked hand. An angry storm system swirled above it, spitting forth lightning in violent bursts. The clouds themselves originated from the tallest spire which spewed them forth like a chimney.

A deep throb went through his body and his eyes went dark and flashed open again for the duration of a heartbeat. He was now half-way to the temple, trudging ever on, when a whirlwind struck up behind him, lifting away the republic commandos, flailing and screaming, and flinging them through the air.

Another deep throb, like the beating of his heart, and his vision flashed dark and then clear once more. Now he was standing at the apex of the rise, approaching the menacing temple. Furious wind seemed to pour off of the edifice, and lighting struck at the sky from its many, claw-like spires.

One more heartbeat and Jek was now inside the evil temple, two Jedi, lightsabers pulsing energy in their hands, at his side. In front of them, his back to them, stood an ebony cloaked figure.

His cloak seemed impossibly dark, like a black hole. It seemed to be sucking up all light around it. The blackness of it was interrupted only by the occasional flash which coursed through it, like lightning through an indescribably angry thunderhead.

The chamber itself was pitch black at its recesses. In the center, however, a dull orange glow emanated from a deep pit, around which a ceremonial altar was built. From that pit arose billowing clouds of black smoke, which rose to the top of the chamber. As they rose, tongues of lighting licked around them, starting sparsely but increasing in intensity the further up the clouds billowed. At the apex of the chamber, the clouds began to swirl around a central point, from which they escaped the chamber, contributing to the storm swirling outside the temple.

The shrouded figure standing at the edge of the pit turned to face the Jedi. Over his face was a mask as black as the cloak over his body. Dark and without texture, it belied no expression. Suddenly, dark cloud-like tendrils snaked and swirled from the back of his head, swirling around the front of the mask for but an instant, before forming into an expression over the face. The hooded figure turned on them a menacing smile. Then a ripple went through the cloudlike tendrils forming the expression, and the smile was wiped away, replaced in an instant with an angry snarl as the figure began to charge, igniting a smoke-like lightsaber in mid stride. The lightsaber's grey color reflected the anger in the figure's face, and red bursts of energy pulsed through the lightsaber at intervals, like the lightning in the clouds above. As he approached the Jedi, he stretched forth his free hand and blue lightning like a spider's web burst from his fingertips.

Darkness again enveloped Jek, along with a deep throbbing, which became more and more intense, louder and more rapid, with each passing moment. Jek thought the noise might overwhelm him, crushing his consciousness into oblivion, when suddenly his eyes flashed open.

All was quiet.

He awoke in the cool, stony quarters, deep within the secure walls of the Jedi _Praxeum, _the academy which Luke Skywalker had established on Yavin IV, which Jek had been calling home for the last few weeks. He arose from his bed and dropped to the floor to do a set of push-ups, his normal routine after such a nightmare. It normally served to ground him in reality once again, the throbbing which it caused in his muscles reminding him that he was alive, reassuring him that he was awake. He did a few only to realize that he was already out of breath, his throat dry from exertion. The muscles in his arms also, already had begun to throb with fatigue. He rolled off of his arms, sat on the cold, stone floor and relished the sensation as the stone drew the heat from his body. He rubbed his hand across his sweat-beaded brow and suppressed a shudder as he forced from his mind the memories of the dream.

It had seemed so real….

Jek jumped to his feet, threw on some shoes and some shorts and set out for a run, a dull throbbing pressing on the back of his brain all the way.

Borrak Creyn was anxious. Jek Va'lynne, Borrak's master and the person closest to him, observed the tall, gawky youth with unkept black hair, as he paced just outside the entry of the shuttle. Jek, seated at the controls of the shuttle, could feel the apprehension flowing from his pupil and crashing into him in heavy waves. Borrak made no attempt to hide his feeling that he was not adequate for the mission ahead.

"Borrak," Jek called down the shuttle's entry ramp. Borrak didn't respond and instead continued to pace. "Borrak," Jek called again, a little louder this time over the wine of the shuttle's engines. Still Borrak failed to respond. "Hey, kid!" shouted Jek. Borrak started and looked around at his master, bewildered. "You with me?" asked Jek with as sympathetic an expression as he could muster. The youth nodded shakily and Jek smiled.

Just then, Oli Breen, the Jedi from Coruscant, strode into the hangar. She wore a cheerful smile as she strode towards the shuttle. Many passed Oli off as naive. She had a tendency towards being awkwardly straightforward and stating even the painfully obvious. But Jek knew different. His experience with Oli had taught him of her keen wit and decisive nature.

When Borrak noticed Oli's presence he stopped dead in his tracks. He was never good at hiding his feelings and now they were on grand display. His face had gone pallid and his mouth gaped open. He stood, stock still, as the raven-haired woman approached.

"Hi, I'm Oli Breen. Looks like we'll be fighting the Yuuzhan Vong together," Oli said as she came up to meet Borrak at the foot of the entry ramp to the shuttle. "What's your name?" she asked and extended a hand to the young apprentice.

Borrak, showcasing reflexes Jek had not previously seen, jumped back away from the woman's outstretched hand as if she had just pulled a vibroblade on him.

"What's wrong?" asked Oli innocently. "Do I have something on my hand?" She looked at her hand, wiped it off on her flight suit and offered it again, newly polished, to Borrak.

Borrak stood, stone cold and pale faced, staring at her.

"Blast! You'd think I was Darth Vader!" Said Oli and, smiling in greeting towards Jek, she strode past Borrak into the shuttle and took her seat behind the other Jedi Master.

Following a little ways behind Oli was her apprentice, Trask Gorand. Trask was everything that Borrak was not. He was confident, good-looking, very competent with a lightsaber for someone so young, and, Jek had decided, was if anything an even bigger pain in the butt than Borrak. He strode past Borrak with barely a notice and took his seat next to Oli.

"Let's get going kid," called Jek down the ramp to Borrak who took deep breath and made an effort to steady himself before boarding the shuttle.

Once Borrak was secure in the seat next to him, Jek closed the shuttle's entry way, got clearance to take off, and thumbed on the shuttle's repulsorlift drives. He directed the shuttle's nose towards the hangar's exit and throttled forward. Clearing the opening of the hangar, he nosed the shuttle up towards space and away from the lush jungles of Yavin IV, the site of the Jedi Academy. As they made orbit a squadron of E-Wing fighters moved into formation to escort the shuttle. As soon as they were clear of the gravity well of the great gas-giant Yavin, Jek engaged the hyperdrive and the stars stretched into lines before them and they were off at light-speed towards their destination.

The Jedi's mission seemed fairly straightforward on paper. It was to be one of simple infiltration. Republic forces had been at a stalemate with the Yuuzhan Vong on planet Nahmee for days now. Nahmee was of strategic significance, due to its situation along a critical hyperspace route to Coruscant, the capital of the Republic. For the Yuuzhan Vong it would make a great staging point for the push to the capital that now seemed inevitable. Nahmee was a jungle planet, more densely foliaged even than Yavin IV. The planet's dense foliage combined with the severe tropical storms which had been hammering the planet's only land-mass had made fighting the alien threat there nearly impossible.

The Republic maintained a base beneath the planet's surface. Because this base was impregnable to orbital onslaught the battle had gone to ground. The Yuuzhan Vong, however, found themselves just as frustrated with the fighting conditions on the planet as the republic forces. The Vong had taken up camp in some caves and decided to wait out the weather.

The Jedi's mission would be to infiltrate the Yuuzhan Vong camp stealthily, and aid Republic forces in driving the aliens off the planet once and for all.

Of course, Jek knew that such plans were rarely as simple in the execution as they appeared on paper. The Yuuzhan Vong were a terrible opponent. A race of warriors utilizing lethal biotechnology developed over generations of war and conquest, and currently engineered to fight and kill Jedi. The Yuuzhan Vong saw the Jedi as the greatest threat to their plans of bringing the galaxy into submission, and thus had made them their primary targets. This mission, Jek knew, would be one of untold danger.

Jek turned to his right to glance at his apprentice who stared ahead into hyperspace, the expression of his face matching the apprehension that was still flowing off of him in waves.

--

"I've got a bad feeling about this," said Borrak from the co-pilot's seat as the shuttle's proximity alert beeped to notify its occupants that they were about to come out of hyperspace.

"Yeah", said Jek simply in response as he disengaged the hyperspace drive and the kaleidoscope of light before them resolved itself into the tiny points of light that were the stars of that galaxy. Nahmee loomed in front of them, the giant, green land mass, surrounded by ocean, obscured by a massive, swirling storm system.

"Master?" asked Borrak. It took Jek a moment to realize that that the younger Jedi was addressing him. He felt annoyance surge through him at hearing that formal title, but instantly pushed the feeling away.

"What is it?" asked Jek.

"I've been thinking; I'm not sure I'm going to be able to use the stealth techniques you showed me. I've only had a week to practice them. You saw me on Yavin IV, even with all the trees and animals and noise and everything I was the first to get caught in the exercise. I'm just not cut out for stealth".

Though Jek wanted to feel frustrated with his pupil's lack of trust in the force, he chuckled slightly, as he couldn't help but agree. Borrak was tall, skinny and quite ungainly. Yes, Jek had to admit, Borrak was decidedly un-stealthy.

"I'm jeopardizing the whole operation. I can't go with you."

This, finally, did frustrate Jek. "Listen kid, what's jeopardizing this operation, if anything, is your negativity. Forget about it. What did Master Skywalker tell you when you left the Academy?"

"To trust in three things; my training, my master, and most of all, the force".

"That's right. Now, what have you done non-stop this past week?" It frustrated Jek to have to go through this routine before every mission. But the last thing he needed was a nervous greeny so wound up that the smell of his sweat alone would be sure to tip off the Yuuzhan Vong.

Borrak sighed and visibly caught hold of himself. Jek laughed inwardly. something about this idiotic routine always seemed to calm the greeny's nerves. "Training in stealth techniques," came the slightly calmer reply.

"Alright, who has been training you and is with you right now, going into this mission?"

"You, master."

Jek shrugged off the annoyance he felt at hearing that title again. "And what is a Jedi's most powerful ally?"

Borrak closed his eyes and smiled as he answered, "the force."

That routine, inane as it always was, had its desired effect, and Borrak was now calm and didn't voice another misgiving as their shuttle approached its destination.

Jek was slightly taken aback by his own reaction to hearing Borrak refer to him with the title "Master." It just sounded so out of place when he heard it addressed to himself. It wasn't as if he hadn't heard it before. Despite his insistence against it, Borrak had not stopped calling him by that title from day one. Nor was he new to the experience of being a Jedi Master.

Jek had already trained an apprentice. A brilliant, gallant, and carefree type whom the word "knight" definitely fit. Mere months after leaving his apprenticeship with Jek however, Lan Crom was sent on an assignment that would prove to be his last. He was escorting a convoy of refugees, fleeing a planet devastated by ruthless Yuuzhan Vong attacks, when they were ambushed by a swarm of Vong starfighters. As Jek had heard it, the battle was turning into a route and the Republic forces had the Yuuzhan Vong on the run. Then the Vong got desperate. Half a dozen coral skipper starfighters began to make suicide runs at largest of refugee ships, the one carrying the severely wounded and many of the refugee's supplies. Many were gunned down before getting close, but one got through and nearly collided with the helpless freighter. Jek's apprentice, who always seemed to have a knack for being in the opportune place at the right time, was able to veer his E-Wing fighter at the last moment and collide with the kamikaze coral skipper. He was killed, but saved dozens of innocent lives, and the badly needed supplies in the process.

He had never referred to Jek with the formal title "Master". They had been friends, more nearly like brothers. Jek was quiet and often cynical. He had always lacked patience and been quick to get down on himself. Lan's optimism and carefree personality provided a great balance. Jek had learned a lot from his apprentice. Lan's death had crushed Jek. For weeks he wondered if something he had taught Lan, or hadn't taught him, would have made the difference. But after a while, he came to grips with it.

He was thinking of his apprentice one day when he considered what the carefree youth would have told him in such a situation. He remembered the battle of Kuma'ari. Dozens of Yuuzhan Vong warriors remained on the planet, hassling the Jedi, while imminent death loomed from above in the form of Kuma'ari III's largest moon, which the Yuuzhan Vong were about to bring down on the planet in a tactic that they had executed before with devastating results. Side by side with Lan, knowing that the end was near, Jek looked at his young apprentice. On his face was not an expression of fear. Not one of certain defeat. Not even one of resolute determination to face a noble death. Lan's face was loose, almost half-smiling. He met his master's gaze and gave a carefree shrug and a wry grin, right before parrying a blow coming in from a charging Yuuzhan Vong. He thought of what expression Lan might have given him just before charging his E-Wing into the murderous Yuuzhan Vong's coral skipper. It was then that he had found peace with his apprentice's death and it was then that he accepted the responsibility of taking on a new apprentice.

He glanced again at Borrak and concern for the youth filled his being. So much to learn and discover. So much yet to overcome. Jek had come to know Borrak very well. He lacked self-esteem and didn't associate much with the other students his first few years at the Jedi Academy. Besides exclusion, he had been the focus of constant derision by others studying under Master Skywalker and the other Jedi Masters at the Academy. And of the deriders, Trask Gorand, Oli's apprentice, who now accompanied them on this mission, was foremost. Still full of concern for his apprentice, Jek turned his attention once again to bringing the shuttle in on its final approach.

"Alright, think you can handle it from here?" came the interrogative from over the shuttle's com system.

"Yeah, we've got it Grey-Leader," answered Jek. "Thanks for watching our tail."

"No problem. Give those blasted sithspawn what's coming to them."

"Will do." Said Jek and watched as the E-Wings veered away and then disappeared into hyperspace. "Alright, buckle up, we're heading down"

The planet's atmosphere was hellishly turbulent. Azure tongues of lightning flicked from the angry, spinning clouds and played across the shuttle's deflector shields. Despite the conditions, Jek was able to give the Jedi a fairly comfortable landing in a designated clearing. Upon disembarking into the torrent, the Jedi were met by a group of Republic commandos.

"How goes it?" shouted Jek above the gail as the commando leader approached.

"Well, you can see I think. The weather has kept us underground and the Vong in the caves. At least I've been able to make a killing in saabac games while we've been waiting"

Jek smiled. "What's their position?"

"Here, I'll download it to your nav-map."

After they zeroed in on the Yuuzhan Vong's location, the Jedi set out to meet their enemy.

--

It was nearly impossible to navigate through the thick jungle. With rain drops the size of turbolaser bolts falling fierce and wind that threatened to upend the four Jedi Knights as they made their way to the caves where they would confront the Yuuzhan Vong. It turns out that the Vong were situated about seven kilometers from where the Jedi set down. With conditions the way they were, it would be evening the next day at best before they arrived at the enemy camp.

On they trudged through the downpour. Jek Va'lynne, at the head of the troupe, grew impatient with the conditions. Obviously, there was nothing he could do, but that was what irked him the most. He hated being at the mercy of things over which he had no control. He hated to feel helpless.

Suddenly a cry came from behind him. He looked back to see two of the three other Jedi looking back at the empty space where Borrak Creyn, his apprentice, should have been. With a groan, made inaudible by the intense winds of the storm, he rushed back to see what had become of the young Jedi.

He found him a few steps later, on his back, leaves pasted to his chest by the wind and rain, and blood in a slow trickle running down from a would on his head, just above the scalp-line. He was concious, but barely.

"What happened?" asked Jek.

"I, I...dunno...I..." Borrak's eyelids fluttered and his eyes rolled a bit in their sockets.

"Oli!" shouted Jek over his shoulder.

"I got it," called Oli Breen as she rushed to Jek's side and crouched to examine the apprentice. Trask stood behind them, arms folded, looking down his nose at the wounded Jedi with a look of half impatience, half bemusement on his face.

Oli was well known among the Jedi for her skill as a healer, which was exactly why she was chosen for this mission. She stretched out her hand and put it on Borrak's head, over the location of the wound. Borrak's eyes followed her hand weekly. As soon as Oli's hand touched his skin, his normally pinkish face lost all color, his eyes rolled up in their sockets and he went totally limp.

Oli glanced nervously from the young apprentice, to his master, to her apprentice and back to her patient. "That usually doesn't happen when I try to heal someone," she said apologetically.

Jek suppressed a chuckle.

Within ten minutes Borrak was conscious again and could speak of what had happened to him.

"I think it was a tree branch. Must have broken loose and been carried by the wind."

"Just think if you were that much shorter," said Oli, holding her fingers up to demonstrate.

Jek chuckled, Trask sneered, and Borrak went white, looking horrified that he had even opened his mouth.

"He's not gonna faint again is he?" asked Trask to no one in particular.

Jek, ignoring the slight by Trask, turned to his apprentice, "are you alright to walk?"

"Oh yes, he should definitely be able to walk," cut in Oli before Borrak had the chance to respond for himself.

Jek, without responding to Oli, looked back at his apprentice who gave a shaky nod.

"Alright, let's go."

"A Jedi, felled by an errant broken tree branch. We're here to take on a race of warriors, and he can't take a walk in the woods without nearly getting killed! Didn't you perceive the threat? Why didn't you just use a bit of basic telekinesis and push it away?"

Borraks face was positively flaccid. His chin was buried so far in his chest that Jek thought it might leave a mark.

He looked compassionately towards his apprentice who would barely raise his face to meet his master's gaze. Then Jek locked his gaze resolutely on Trask.

"Hey, Trask," he said.

Trask looked back and in that instant a number of things happened. Suddenly a root from one of the nearby trees snaked up to catch Trask around the right ankle. As he stumbled, a nearby pile of wet leaves, driven by the wind into a recess between the root of a tree and a boulder, suddenly took flight and hit the falling Trask square in the face. Then, just before hitting the rough, wet ground, Trask stopped as if suspended on a cushion of air.

Amid gleeful chuckles from Oli, to whom the hilarity of the situation seemed to out-weight the seriousness of this obvious misuse of force power by Jek, and the astonished, gape-mouthed expression on an ever more pail Borrak, Jek strode up to the levitating Trask and kneeled down to look him in the face.

"Watch your step," said Jek.

--

As the Jedi continued to march, the torrent began to die down. This presented a new set of problems however. The fact was that the Yuuzhan Vong seemed to have an inexplicable disconnect from the force. This meant that Jedi were unable to influence or perceive the presence of the Yuuzhan Vong. Undoubtedly the Vong had set up sentries to watch for the arrival of unwelcome guests. The problem was that the Jedi would be unable to detect the presence of the Yuuzhan Vong forward scouts.

Until now the Jedi had gone undetected because of the noise and the rain of the storm. They had been able to move without regard for the noise they would make. Now they would have to use extra caution so as not to tip off the enemy sentries, wherever they were.

Jek Va'lynne relayed his thoughts on the situation to the trio of Jedi traveling with him.

"We'll have to use stealth from here on out," Jek told the other Jedi. "We have no way of knowing where the Yuuzhan Vong have set up guard. We'll just have to move silently and hope we don't walk right into them."

The other Jedi agreed. Jek began to concentrate. Within a moment, all of the sounds naturally made by a normal human being were squelched. Breath, footsteps, even the sound of his flight suit crinkling slightly with movement, were made imperceptible. More startling was the fact that, unless viewed directly, Jek was practically invisible. He began to advance, now much more slowly than before, as the other Jedi prepared themselves to execute the technique.

Borrak Creyn, Jek's apprentice, began to concentrate as well. He reassured himself by thinking of all the hours he spent practicing this technique, and trying to force from his mind the memory of all of his failures with it. After a few minutes' meditation he successfully managed the stealth technique. A rush of optimism flowed through him, but was immediately tempered when he opened his eyes.

Jek had advanced a good distance ahead, as had Oli Breen. Trask Gorand, Oli's apprentice, had taken nearly as long as Borrak to silence himself, and was now moving recklessly to catch up to the two masters.

He leapt, albeit silently, from root to root, rock to rock, trunk to trunk. As he overtook Jek, the older Jedi fixed him with an anxious stare. Jek dared not speak, for fear such would defeat the purpose of the stealth technique and might tip off the enemy to the Jedi's approach. Instead he watched helplessly, hoping against the inevitable.

Trask was now a good fifty meters ahead of the other Jedi. With every leap his confidence grew, as did his recklessness. Spotting, as he sprinted, a sizable gap between two felled trees, Trask set himself for the difficult jump;

and lost his footing.

He tumbled, flailing, into the gap. After a fall of nearly two meters, he landed with a loud grunt and a heavy thud on the cold, wet ground.

The other Jedi froze and immediately began searching their surroundings for signs of movement, hoping that Trask's blunder had gone unnoticed. When no sign of the enemy was detected, they hurried silently to the gap into which Trask had fallen. Trask was getting slowly to his feet, trying to rid himself of the mud which now soiled the left half of his flight suit. As he looked up to discover the presence of the other Jedi a look of mixed horror and humiliation crossed his face, but was quickly replaced with a sneer as he turned his back to the other Jedi and began to climb out of the gap.


	2. Chapter 2

Night had fallen of the planet Nahmee. The group of four Jedi Kights had traveled all day and despite the difficulties they had faced they had traversed a little over half the distance to the Yuuzhan Vong encampment.

Still wary that Trask Gorand's fall might have tipped off the Yuuzhan Vong to their approach, the Jedi set up camp and bedded down for the night.

As the Jedi slept, six dark figures moved quietly through the forest toward the hapless humans. They surrounded the camp and readied themselves to strike. The lead Yuuzhan Vong warrior raised his amphistaff over his head and with a slight snarling grunt, brought the heavy end of his staff down towards the head of his unsuspecting prey.

In an instant a snap-hiss pierced the silent night and amber light cast shadows behind the six Yuuzhan Vong warriors surrounding the Jedi camp. With lightning quickness Jek Va'lynne slashed his amber blade though the air and deflected the blow of a startled alien warrior. In the same sweeping motion he propelled himself to his feet, spun on the spot and swept his blade through the alien's vonduun crab armor, striking a killing blow.

In an instant, purple, blue, and green joined amber light in pushing back the night's darkness.

As another enemy pressed him from the left, Jek brought his left leg up in a kick that hit his opponent full in the sternum, sending him back a step. Using the momentum from his kick, Jek drove his left foot into the ground and brought his amber blade in a powerful one-handed swing aimed at the Yuuzhan Vong from the upper-right. The alien raised his staff in both hands to deflect the blow and brought up the razor-sharp tip in a quick jab that nearly caught Jek in the sternum, causing him to jump back to avoid being impaled. In the same instant, the enemy warrior brought the heavy head of his staff around in a long swing that caught Jek on the left flank. Jek heard a snap and felt sharp pain explode from a now broken rib. The Jedi parried another long swing from his opponent and had a strike of his own deflected. Now they were locked in, toe to toe. Jek began to feel anxious, he knew that with the one enemy he had killed and the one he was now fighting, that left one enemy to each of the other Jedi. While he knew Oli could handle it, and suspected that Trask was up to the challenge, he knew that Borrak must be struggling and would need assistance fast.

Another long swing came in from directly above him and Jek caught the brunt of this one on his blade. Unyielding, the Yuuzhan Vong pressed his amphistaff closer to the Jedi, attempting to crush him to the ground under the force of it. Jek maintained his pressure on the ever encroaching enemy weapon, and his own bright blade, which was now dangerously close to his flesh. The Yuuzhan Vong snarled at Jek through clenched teeth, his breath now heavy on Jek's face. Suddenly the amphistaff slackened and began to coil around the lightsaber's amber blade, its mouth bearing venomous fangs and inching ever closer to the Jedi's face.

With above natural speed, Jek reached his left hand to the vibroblade sheathed on his left hip and plunged the blade into the Yuuzhan Vong's side. The alien snarled and hissed, trying to keep force behind his staff. Little by little, the alien's strength waned and he crumpled, still snarling, to one knee, and then to the ground.

Jek sheathed his blade and turned to his right to see his apprentice struggling against a Yuuzhan Vong warrior that was nearly Borrak's height. Abandoning precision, the alien swung violently, attempting to merely beat his foe into submission.

It was working. Borrak had given up much ground to his opponent, and it took all he had to raise his azure blade in his own defense.

Jek seized on the enemy, delivering a decapitating blow from behind. Borrak looked up, stunned, before falling, exhausted, to one knee to catch his breath.

Jek looked around to see Trask's green blade pass through his opponent's arm, then through the alien's armor from left shoulder to right hip in a killing blow. Oli's purple blade was all that was visible, jutting out through the back of the enemy whose mass eclipsed her slight frame. The Vong fell from her blade, and moved no more.

The Jedi regrouped at the center of their camp. Jek failed to suppress a wince as a fresh wave of pain exploded from his broken rib.

"Let me take a look at that," said Oli as she stepped closer to him.

"No," said Jek quickly. "It's nothing, really. I can take care of it myself while I meditate tonight."

"Don't be stupid," said Oli, and she reached to rest a hand on Jek's side.

Jek winced for a moment, and then felt his pain subside as waves of comfort rushed from the spot where Oli's hand rested.

It was then that Jek realized how close to him Oli stood. Their eyes met for an instant before Oli looked away quickly. She flushed and withdrew her hand a bit guitlily from his side. Jek was suprised to find his face warm as he too flushed slightly.

"Alright," he said quickly and cleared his throat. "We'll sleep in turns. I'll take the first watch. Trask, you'll take the next, then Oli, then Borrak." He looked to his apprentice who looked away and refused to meet his gaze.

--------

Despite the Jedi's precaution the night passed without further attacks. As morning broke they took up camp and set out again towards their destination. Now that the enemy had detected them it made little sense to use stealth, at least until very close to the enemy position. Either the six Yuuzhan Vong that had attacked them were the entire forward guard, in which case that left no one else to detect the Jedi presence, or they were a portion of the forward guard and the rest had been sent to inform their comrades in the caves. In either case, speed was now of the essence and stealth would take a back seat for now.

The sun was just beginning to set as at last the Jedi arrived at their destination. In front of the largest mouth of the caves was a large, treeless clearing. Approaching from there would be suicide, so the Jedi, once again employing stealth, began to case the area for a better approach. They found it in an opening that was much lower on the hillside, meaning that they would have to make their way up once inside.

As they entered the cave Jek Va'lynne reflected with bemusement on the storm that had forced the Yuuzhan Vong to seek shelter in these caves. It was nothing, he thought, compared to the storm that was about to erupt inside those caves.

It didn't take long for the Jedi to encounter a small group of Yuuzhan Vong. Stealthily the Jedi stalked in the shadows of a passageway that opened up a little ways ahead into a spacious cavern. Torch light played across the cavern walls casting eery shadows behind the four enemy warriors. They were positioned on either side of the two openings to the cave. Silently, Jek crept to the opening, sticking to the shadows, and then made his move. He quickly swept into the space between the two nearest Yuuzhan Vong and in one motion ignited his amber blade, swept it through the neck of the enemy to his right, severing his head, spun on the spot and jabbed his lightsaber through the enemy on the opposite side of the opening.

In the same instant Oli Breen and Trask Gorand swept into the cavern and crossed it to meet the other two Yuuzhan Vong who had just reacted to the presence of this unwanted visitor. The snap-hiss of the Jedi's lightsabers pierced the air as purple and green blades sprang to life and bared down on their staff-wielding opponents.

Just as the Jedi began to clash blades with the remaining enemies, four more Yuuzhan Vong, alerted by the ruckus, poured into the cavern from the far opening. Two immediately moved to engage Oli who had her opponent's back to the wall. The remaining two moved to engage Jek and Borrak.

Jek's opponent crossed the room in a few quick strides, set his feet, and squared up with Jek, bringing his staff up in a defensive posture. Unlike the other Yuuzhan Vong, who had simply charged their opponents, this one, Jek realized, was no amateur.

The alien struck first, delivering a quick slash to Jek's upper left quarter, which Jek parried, followed by another quick slash from high and right. The Vong slashed relentlessly and it was all Jek could do to parry his opponent's strikes and wait for an opening to counter-attack. That opening came as Jek side-stepped a jab aimed at his stomach. The Vong spun on the spot, aiming a sweep at Jek's exposed right side. In an instant Jek crouched down and leapt, using the force to add strength to his leap, and somersaulted over his opponent. Upon landing Jek slashed right through the alien's vonduun crab armor, separating upper from lower body at the torso.

Jek then threw a glance at his apprentice who was admirably fending off his enemy's blows. He moved toward the two combatants.

In the meantime, Oli had been backed nearly to the wall by her three opponents. With a look of defiance on her face she parried a hard swing from one of her foes, set her feet, stretched forth her left hand and sent out a shock-wave of force energy that caught all three of her opponents, sending the one on her left flailing to the ground and the other two staggering back a few steps. In the same instant she leapt towards the Yuuzhan Vong in front of her and brought her purple blade down through armor, flesh, and bone. She landed in a crouch and with a fluid movement spun and swept her blade up through the Yuuzhan Vong now encroaching from the right. Allowing her spin to carry her all the way around she set herself to face the third enemy who was now getting to his feet.

At that same moment, unseen by the Jedi, two more enemies swept into the room. The first of these warriors began to charge at Jek, the only Jedi without an opponent. The other moved slowly and deliberately towards Oli, who had her back to him.

As his opponent charged, staff poised above his head to deliver a crushing blow, Jek merely sidestepped him to the left and brought his lighsaber around in a fatal back-handed strike, With his foe soundly defeated, Jek strode to Borrak's opponent and slashed his blade down towards him. The Yuuzhan Vong parried Jek's blow, but left himself open as Borrak plunged his azure blade into the alien's mid-section.

In that moment Borrak looked up to see the enemy now within striking distance of Oli, who, occupied with her own foe, had not noticed his approach.

"No!" Borrak cried. Desperately, and mustering all of the confidence he could from his defeat of an enemy warrior, Borrak charged at the back of the Yuuzhan Vong who turned, alerted to Borrak's charge. So desperate was he that Borrak failed to recognize his surroundings and his legs got caught up on the corpse of a fallen foe. Borrak's fall sent his lightsaber flying threateningly through the air and into a far wall, and carried him right into the back of Oli's legs, spilling her to the ground.

Anguish filled Borrak's being, followed by abject horror as he looked up to see the warrior he had tried to blind-side poised to bring an amphistaff down on his head. He remembered vaguely a flash of yellow light above his head and then all was darkness.

--------

Jek Va'lynne's stomach sank as he watched his apprentice's ill-fated rescue attempt of Oli Breen. Borrak had already stumbled by the time Jek could react. It was all he could do to rush over and deflect the blow intended to crush the young Jedi's head.

As he did so, Trask Gorand swung his verdant lightsaber blade around to silence the foe. Oli Breen, who had been the victim of Borrak's bad luck, managed to bring up her lightsaber to swat away the staff of the surviving Yuuzhan Vong before he could jab a sharp tip into her mid-section. As she did so Jek strode forward and delivered a strike that cut from the right shoulder to the left hip of the Yuuzhan Vong warrior.

Disaster averted and the last enemy dead, the Jedi rushed to Borrak Creyn, who lay unconscious on the ground.

After a moment Borrak regained consciousness. His eyes darted to the faces of each of the other Jedi and then he closed his eyes a let out a weak groan. That was the last noise he made for some time. However, with some assistance from his master, Borrak got half-heartedly to his feet and went along with the other Jedi, head hung low, as they moved through the tunnels of the cave.

Ever upward they stalked. Every now and then the tunnel would be interrupted by an opening into another, divergent tunnel, or by the occasional wide cavern. It felt like an eternity to the anxious Jedi however before they finally encountered more Yuuzhan Vong.

Finally, up a steep incline, lantern light was visible cascading off of the cave wall. The sounds of footsteps echoed down the corridor. Though it was difficult to get an exact bearing, Jek estimated that the cavern up that steep incline was very near the large mouth of the cave that looked onto the clearing outside. This, then, was most likely the main chamber where most of the Yuuzhan Vong would be congregated.

On an impulse, Jek reached out with the force to survey the world around him with eyes unhindered by the rock wall. As he full well knew, he could detect no Yuuzhan Vong presence in the cave ahead, though he knew they were there. Reaching out a bit further however, he sensed something that made hope swell within him, just outside the mouth of the cave. He pulled his com-link from his flight suit pocket and clicked the "send" button twice. Then, signaling the other Jedi to follow, he made his move.

He rushed into the cavern and slashed at the first unsuspecting Yuuzhan Vong he saw. That foe crumpled under his amber blade. He then swung his blade around to parry a blow coming from an enemy to his right, turned slightly and slashed towards another enemy who had encroached from the left.

Oli and Trask charged in, purple and green blades slashing and slicing at Yuuzhan Vong staves and armor.

Jek fought his way to the opening on the other side of the cave through five enemy warriors, two of which fell by his blade.

"Run!" he shouted as he reached the tunnel entrance and cut down a third foe.

The other Jedi immediately abandoned their engagements, which were looking ever more futile as more Yuuzhan Vong warriors joined the melee. Instead they turned and ran towards the tunnel Jek had just disappeared into. Goaded by the Jedi's retreat, no less than two dozen Yuuzhan Vong gave chase into the caves.

The tunnels ahead were a veritable labyrinth, but Jek was guided by a sense other than sight as he picked his path through the caves Using the force to aid them, the Jedi were able to slightly out-pace their pursuers as they rushed toward the light just visible ahead.

Finally they broke into the clearing outside the largest cave mouth, but Jek didn't slow down. He guided the other Jedi to the other end of the clearing where they finally stopped and turned to face their enemies, all of whom were now charging across the clearing.

Out of nowhere streaks of read light filled the morning, and Yuuzhan Vong warriors, taken completely unawares by the ambush, began to fall in droves. In mere moments it was all over.

The commander in charge of the commandos, the same one who had met the troupe of Jedi when they landed on the planet, led his troops out of the clearing, smiling ear to ear.

"I knew you were alive when I heard the clicks from my com-link," he said. "We left base as soon as we could get clearance to put a shuttle in the air. We set down in a clearing about half a click away just as dawn broke and made it here as fast as we could. Figured you could use the help"

"You arrived just in time," said Jek, returning the man's smile. Jek looked around to take inventory of the situation. Two dozen or more Yuuzhan Vong warriors lay dead on the ground. A dozen Republic commandos, armed with blaster rifles, stood in the clearing. On either side of him were Oli and Trask. Then Jek's stomach gave a lurch.

There was no sign of Borrak.

--------

Borrak Creyn skulked in the shadows of the tunnel leading into the cavern that the three other Jedi had rushed into. He felt he could not bear combat right now. He was as much a danger to his friends, and to himself, as he was to his foes. Perhaps, he thought, even more.

How could he have acted so stupidly?! He thought to himself. He was a Jedi! Trask was right about him all along. He was not up to the challenge of avoiding an errant tree branch, much less fighting the fearsome Yuuzhan Vong's warrior caste. He had endangered the mission, he knew it. What's more, he knew it all along. How could his Jek, his master and tutor and the one most acquainted with Borrak's shortcomings, have convinced him to come on this mission.

Jek.

For the first time true anger rippled through Borrak for just a moment. Jek knew Borrak couldn't handle it and still put him in harm's way. He didn't care about Borrak. If he did he would have trusted he when he said he wasn't up for this mission. If he really cared he wouldn't get in the way of him and Oli.

Borrak stilled himself, now more mortified than ever that he could even contemplate feeling angry or jealous towards Jek. What right did he have to feel this way? What right had he, the worst student in his class of apprentices, to question the motives or the ability of a Jedi master?

Borrak relished the feeling as waves of comforting inferiority washed over him. Yes, he was the least of the least. The other Jedi would of course understand now that he could not enter the fight. They would comprehend that he was of no use and it was better for him to stay out of the way anyway. After all, all they had done this whole mission was put themselves at risk to save him. They would be grateful that he had saved them the trouble by simply keeping himself out of harm's way.

And as for Oli, what could she possibly see in Borrak anyway.

Suddenly Borrak heard Jek's shout of "Run!" echo through the caves. He rushed to the cave entrance to see the other three Jedi dash into a tunnel at the opposite end of the large cavern, followed by a multitude of ravenous Yuuzhan Vong. He made a move into the cavern to follow them but came up short. A snarling Yuuzhan Vong stepped around into the tunnel opening, his face inches away from Borrak's.

The blood rushed from Borrak's head and he felt faint. He tried to scream for help but could make no sound.

As Borrak backed tentatively away from the Yuuzhan Vong, another enemy came around the other side of the tunnel entrance.

Somehow, Borrak managed to find his legs, turned, and sprinted as fast as he could down the tunnel. He had never felt so much fear. It seemed to drive him, to quicken his steps with unnatural speed. Fear flooded his whole being and he gave himself fully to it. As he did so the sound of the Yuuzhan Vong warriors sprinting after him grew ever more distant.

Suddenly he felt the impulse to take a sharp left turn into the entrance of another tunnel. Still running, he heard the rapid footsteps of his pursuers get closer to the tunnel, ever louder. Then, the sound began to grow more distant, before becoming silent. Borrak stopped, puzzled, and looked back to the tunnel entrance. Where once there was a hole in the rock wall, there now appeared solid stone. Panic gripped Borrak for a moment as he realized he was now sealed in. It subsided quickly however, and was replaced with feelings of comfort and even surety. Somehow he knew that this was the right way to go.

As he began to follow the tunnel his mind flashed to the other Jedi. They would have realized by now that Borrak was missing and would doubtless want to find him. His worry was swalloed up almost immediately and comfort and surety prevailed again. What the other Jedi did didn't matter now. He felt that if he just kept going along this path, all would be well.

For a moment the surety which he felt startled Borrak. He'd never felt this way before. He'd never been sure about anything. Jek often chided him for his doubtfulness. If only he knew now what Borrak was doing. He felt sure that it was the most important thing he had ever done or perhaps would ever do.

Resolutely, Borrak continued his trek and soon came to a large cavern, out of which five new tunnels sprang. Without the slightest hesitation Borrak selected his path trough the left-most tunnel. He knew that was the right one and smiled as he headed into it.

After a while the tunnel opened up again and Borrak's breath caught in his throat.

The light in the cavern dazzled Borrak's eyes, accustomed to the dimness of the tunnel, before they adjusted. When he could see, he made out what looked like a shrine cut into the stone wall. In the center of the shrine was an altar, on top of which lay three items. The first was a lightsaber. It was long and slender in towards the middle, with blade-like accents around the hilt and pommel that at first Borrak found menacing, but after a moment he realized that they added an elegant touch to the formidable weapon. To the right of the lightsaber lay a curious metal device that Borrak didn't recognize. It was about half the length of his forearm and looked as if it could be mounted on the wrist, with a hand-hold near the front.

As his eyes rested on the last item Borrak's eyes widened. It was a holocron. This one though was different from others Borrak had seen. Rather than a cubical shape, this one was a small pyramid, with four sides. On each of the sides were strange markings that Borrak could not make sense of. At tha apex of the pyramid was a black crystal. All the same, Borrak knew what it was and he marveled at the value of this discovery.

Holocrons were notoriously rare, and the knowledge contained in them, passed down from Jedi Masters past, was invaluable to the New Jedi Order. This addition to the Jedi's base of knowledge would be much appreciated, to say the least. He approached it to pick it up and came up short. The air sizzled with energy and Borrak felt tremors in the force go out from the device in waves. Borrak blinked his eyes and tried to keep his feet as a feeling of faintness suddenly came over him.

The holocron had activated.


	3. Chapter 3

Borrak Creyn dropped to his knees as his senses were nearly overcome with the force emanating from the holocron. His stomach was churning and he felt his bad feeling return in full force for the first time since entering this cavern. That feeling was swept away, however, and was replaced by waves of awe and comfort as the holocron's gatekeeper appeared and started to speak.

"I am Hrisk Du'ur, Master of the force," said the gatekeeper in a deep, booming voice. Master Hrisk Du'ur was taller even than Borrak, with long, drawn features and long white hair that flowed back behind his back. His flesh was very light, just above grey, and his eyes appeared as white slits below a down-turned, hair-less brow line. His ebony cloak was a sharp contrast to his skin. "What is wanted?"

Borrak's mind raced for an answer to the question. He could find none, though it mattered little as he didn't feel he could utter a single word anyway. He struggled to his feet as he stared, gape-mouthed at Master Hrisk Du'ur.

"Who are you?" asked the gatekeeper.

Borrak cleared his throat and tried to swallow but his mouth was totally dry. He hazarded a half-hearted response that came out as little more than a croak.

"What?"

Though his tone was even, the firmness of the master's response made Borrak jump.

"Who are you?" The gatekeeper's inquiry came more slowly this time.

"B-Borrak Cra... Creyn! Borrak Creyn" Came the Jedi's feeble response. "I'm a J-Jedi, sir."

"But of course! You are indeed a Jedi!" The skin around the gatekeeper's face tightened in a generous smile. "And you must be powerful indeed to have been able to activate this holocron."

Borrak was puzzled for a moment. He hadn't activated the holocron. Had he? It seemed to just activate on its own.

"Yes, powerful indeed to have activated it without so much as touching it. Sometimes the greatest power is that of intent. Our intent shows much of who we are, and regardless of the outcome, our intent remains the same as it always was. Dishonor begets dishonor, and though the liar may at times tell the truth to win the trust of the naive, yet liar he remains and his intent, to deceive. On the other hand, though a noble man may have to deceive, or even kill for the greater good, is he any less the noble?

"So you see, it was your intent which activated the holocron. Your intent, and your great power."

"My great power?" Borrak found himself asking. For a moment he regretted speaking, but he shoved the feeling aside. Yes, he had every right to speak. There was no one to judge him here, and if there were then he didn't care anyway. He wanted to know what power was it that he possessed. What power was it that he had failed to realize, that all had failed to realize?

"Yes," said Hrisk Du'ur slowly. "Yes, your great power. Have you not sensed it within yourself? Or perhaps it has been trodden down in the wake of the ambition of others."

No, he had not sensed it within himself and he decided that Hrisk Du'ur must be mistaken. What power could Borrak possibly have. Even his own classmate, Trask Gorand, an apprentice with no more experience than himself, was more adept.

Trask.

Then Borrak pushed aside this notion as Hrisk Du'ur's last statement finally hit him. Trask had put Borrak down nonstop since both had arrived at the Jedi Academy. Could it be that Borrak had some greater power that was squelched by Trask's constant belittling? How had his master not seen this in him?

Jek.

No, Jek was a powerful Jedi and his powers of perception had become legendary among the Order. No, if there were some greater, underlying power that Borrak possessed, his master surely would have perceived it.

"...trodden down in the wake of the ambition of others." The words rang once more in Borrak's mind. Jek had perceived this power in him all along. He was now sure of it. But why would Jek want to conceal Borrak's inner power? Wouldn't the master desire nothing more or less than the total success of his apprentice? What would move Jek to keep Borrak from achieving just that?

Oli.

The image of Oli intruded on Borrak's bemusements, her long hair, black as obsidian, falling in loose curls around her face. Her brown eyes, so seemingly naive and sincere but belying a keen wit and a decisive intellect. Jek wanted Oli. He wanted her for himself. He couldn't let Borrak's true power show through or he might lose her to him. If only Jek had not been so jealous and selfish Borrak might be numbered amongst the great ones of the Jedi Order. If only Jek had allowed him to realize his potential, Oli might be his.

Still, uncertainty, Borrak's familiar companion, crept its way once more into his mind. He had been unable to master even the simplest of techniques. Telekinesis, stealth, lightsaber dueling, even simple mind tricks eluded him. He reflected on his failure with such a simple task as convincing a woolamander, one of Yavin IV's arboreal denizens, that a rock was a favorite fruit. What if his underlying power were so suppressed that it would be impossible to bring forth?

Then there were the Jedi who had interest in keeping that power suppressed. What would Jek do when he found out that Borrak had discovered his own potential and simultaneously uncovered Jek's deceit? How would he react when Borrak emerged from the caves perhaps more powerful than even he? What would Jek be capable of so as not to lose Oli to Borrak?

"Master?" asked Borrak weakly, though not without anxious enthusiasm.

"Yes?" Hrisk Du'ur's reply was little more than a low hiss.

"H-help me?"

"Yes." Hrisk Du'ur smiled again, a thin, serpentine expression. "Yes my young Jedi. Help you I can. And help you I will."

--------

"Commander, one of our number is missing," said Jek Va'lynne, addressing the commander of the strike team that had just saved them by ambushing the Yuuzhan Vong which had been pursuing them.

The commander's previously smiling face drooped into a concerned frown. "How did this happen?" he asked.

Jek thought back anxiously and tried to remain cool. Had Borrak gotten lost in the maze of catacombs through which they had just dashed? Or worse, might he have fallen in the struggle in the cavern? "I, I don't know," replied Jek and he shook himself, as if trying to wake from a bad dream. He had to regain his composure. True Borrak was inexperienced, and at times awkward and clumsy, but he was a Jedi and far from helpless. Nonetheless, they would have to organize themselves and search for the youth.

Jek looked around at the other Jedi. Oli wore a worried expression and Trask, as expected, looked impatient and put out by having to go to the trouble. When he met Jeks gaze he let out a huffy snort, rolled his eyes and looked away, folding his arms over his chest.

"Commander, may we have your assistance?" Jek asked.

"Of course. My men are at your disposal. We'll need to sweep the caves for any remaining Yuuzhan Vong as well. I'll send two fire support men with you. The rest will come with me on a sweep of the caves. We'll keep a constant eye out for the other Jedi."

"Thank you commander," said Jek and the Jedi set out for the caves, two commandos with heavy repeating blasters in their wake.

--------

"You have much to learn, yes. And much more yet to unlearn," said Master Hrisk Du'ur in a low, deep voice. "Too long you have faltered under the weight of false expectations. Too long have you grown cold in the shadow of those who have put their own interests before yours. I can show you how to come into the glorious light of day. Though even the most glorious day is brightest only in contrast to the dark that precedes it. So it shall be with your training. In order to unlock your deep, latent power, we must first explore and confront your deepest fears and darkest misgivings."

"I, I am ready, Master," responded Borrak Creyn as he kneeled in submission before the holographic gatekeeper. "I will do whatever you say."

"Good," said Hrisk Du'ur in a low tone, almost like the hiss of a viper. "Now, open your thoughts to me. Hold nothing back. You must expose to me your innermost fears and misgivings that I may help you confront and obliterate them."

Borrak let his mind open and follow the paths of his misgivings. This was not hard for him. He had often let his mind wander along these same paths. He had even voiced these thoughts to his master, but Jek had never shown any sympathy to Borrak's fears. Instead of helping him face them, it seemed as though Jek were content to merely distract Borrak into forgetting his doubts for a time, bottling them up only to have them resurface again and again.

It felt good to Borrak to know that he now had someone he could count on to help him confront his fears. He felt that he could trust Master Du'ur, though he had only now just met him. As Borrak's trust for the gatekeeper grew, his mind rushed more and more swiftly through the corridors of his misgivings. Ineptness, clumsiness, a fear of disappointing his master, his anxiety over Oli.

His mind stopped there. He was afraid of Oli and afraid of never having a chance with her all at the same time. He was afraid that Oli might never see past Jek to find him. He was afraid that Jek was purposefully putting himself in the way of his happiness. Why? Why couldn't Borrak have a chance for once in his blasted life? What was so wrong with wanting something for himself? What was so wrong with taking any measure to get it?

Hrisk Du'ur began to laugh, quietly and slowly at first, and then his laughter grew to echo through the cavern. "Yes. Yes, that's good. That's perfect. Now, let me show you how to confront that fear, and conquer it once and for all."

This was it. Borrak could feel it. Hrisk Du'ur was about to show him the key to obtaining what he most wanted in life. Now Borrak could feel it all at his fingertips.

--------

Trask Gorand could feel the annoyance falling off of him in waves. He was sure the other Jedi could feel it, but he didn't care. So what if Borrak had gotten himself lost in these tunnels. He was a Jedi. Was Trask expected to rush to his aid whenever he was in the slightest danger?

He was sure that it was this type of coddling that had made Borrak what he was; a spoiled, snot-nosed child of a man with an ineptness that Trask could not find words to describe. After all, Trask had accomplished all he had on his own, with no real assistance from anyone. Master Skywalker had left Trask up to himself much of his time at the Jedi Academy, and there he had excelled. His master, Oli, did little more than offer the occasional, over-obvious advice or counsel. She was amusing at times, he had decided, but rather short on what could be called the wisdom of a Jedi Master. Indeed, Trask reflected to himself, he had come this far on his own merits, and those of the living force, alone.

Why was the same not expected of Borrak?

Trask looked up from his bemusements to find that the other Jedi and the accompanying commandos now enjoyed a substantial lead on him, though that was of little importance. Let them rush to the beck and call of the crying child.

Suddenly, he realized that the solid stone wall had opened to his left. He stopped and examined the opening, then, pitching a glance towards the other Jedi, now nearly lost to his sight, he turned and entered the tunnel. As he did so, the opening seemed to disappear behind him and in its place appeared solid stone once more.


	4. Chapter 4

Jek Va'lynne's lungs burned as he sprinted. Though he was full of anxiety for his apprentice, he tried not to let his fear get the best of him and instead let the force run, cool and pure, free of emotion, through his body, giving speed to his steps.

Oli and the Republic commandos kept up with him on either side. Oli wore that same worried expression. So sincere, Jek thought. She could never hide her emotions very deep.

Suddenly she looked back towards him and their eyes met for a moment. She flushed and looked away, back over her shoulder and her expression changed from worry to confusion. She looked back at him, befuddled.

"Where's Trask?" she asked.

--------

Trask Gorand had arrived at a cavern with five new tunnels running out of it. He had no idea where he was headed, let alone which tunnel would lead him there. Frustration gripped him for a moment and was mingled with impatience. Pushing those feelings aside for the moment, he reached out with the force towards the space ahead of him.

There. There was something ahead of him. Something cool and enticing. Something that filled him with the certainty that he was headed in the right direction. The left-most tunnel. That's where he needed to go. Still unsure of his destination, he set out, now at least sure of his path.

--------

Borrak Creyn's mind was swirling. He felt sickened and disoriented and for a moment thought he might succumb to those feelings and lose consciousness. Then, through the blur, came a sharp burst of pain, as if a vibroblade had been plunged into his brain. At first his mind fled from the pain and again he felt as though he would succumb, but an invisible force, alien to his own mind, seemed to grab hold of his consciousness and guide him towards the pain. At first he resisted and felt his physical body writhe as if to escape the invisible grasp, but slowly he began to succumb. The force that had taken hold of his consciousness seemed to drive talons, as sharp as the pain that had just struck him, into it, deeper and deeper the more he resisted. Soon he gave in fully to its grip and let it take him to the source of his pain.

A childhood of exclusion, the social castes and cliques of his early schooling turning him out with barely a notice. Parents that had little time for their child while they pursued their own social and political careers, shunting him off to private lessons and tutors as if by so doing their obligation as parents to provide for the proper upbringing of their child might be fulfilled. A mother whose greatest care and concern were her court cases, rather than her own son. Hours spent alone playing in a huge room, empty but for the latest and greatest toys that were no substitute for mother, father; sister, brother; friend.

An adolescence of painful awkwardness as his motor skills failed to develop fast enough to keep up with his vertical growth. The giggles of the girls, the scoffs, sneers and shoves of the boys, eager to find an easy outlet for their own teenage angst. Borrak had come to prefer it when no one noticed him, for when they did it was only with derision.

His years at the Jedi Academy. The Masters talking amongst themselves in hushed tones, expressing misgivings that Borrak was too old to train as a Jedi. The other students who seemed to form into the same old cliques of his early school days. The success of so many of the other students where Borrak had failed to produce.

When he started at the Academy, Borrak thought that at last he had found something he could excel at. In his opening address to the new class, Master Skywalker had quoted one of his former masters in emphasizing the power of mind and will over the "crude matter" of muscle and physical skill and prowess. Yet Borrak had been met with disappointment after disappointment, even as the other students, especially Trask, had seemed to succeed with frustrating ease.

Deeper into the heart of his pain they delved, Borrak guided by that incessant, coercive force. At last the pain seemed blinding and seemed about to consume his whole being.

Betrayal.

"BETRAYAL!!!!" Borrak's throat burned as he screamed the word, but he took no note of it. His consciousness was elsewhere than the physical plane.

In an instant his pain turned into white-hot, all consuming anger. The person that was supposed to care about him the most, that was meant to guide him to success, that appeared, on the outside, to be most concerned for his happiness, had purposefully betrayed those purposes for his own, personal gain. It seemed impossible, unfathomable. Yet it was true. Borrak knew it was true. Jek had never cared for Borrak at all. He was just another roadblock in Jek's path of personal ambition. Jek's feigned affection now sickened Borrak.

Lies.

It was all lies.

Borrak returned to consciousness. His head pounded and his throat felt like he had tried to swallow a lightsaber, but he didn't care. He didn't even exert the effort to push those feelings aside. Instead he latched onto them. They were as if physical manifestations of the pain he felt inside. The pain of neglect, abuse, lies, and betrayal. A pain he was determined would end very soon.

--------

The Jedi sprinted on, the two commandos on their heels. Jek Va'lynne was having more and more trouble keeping down the anxiety he felt for his apprentice. He couldn't help but feel that Borrak was in grave danger, though its source, and what that danger might be eluded him. The feeling was simply one of darkness. Not of death or of physical peril, it seemed, but simply darkness.

Suddenly two Yuuzhan Vong warriors turned the corner at a jog and, upon spotting the approaching humans, began to charge madly.

The commandos fired off a volley on the run, missing wide, then dove for cover, firing again after they had set themselves. This volley glanced harmlessly off of the aliens' vonduun crab armor.

With a dual _snap-hiss _purple and amber lightsaber blades came to life, swung up and clashed with alien amphistaves. Jek followed through his strike to the alien staff and then brought his own weapon back up to parry a powerful diagonal strike, coming down from his upper-left. Pushing the enemy blade upward he flicked his wrist to bring his saber around in a slash towards the Yuuzhan Vong's torso. The Vong dodged back out of the way of the slash and brought his staff up in a vertical position, hands on top of a down-pointing staff, to parry a second blow as the Jedi spun on the spot and repeated the slash. Their weapons met with a jarring crash and Jek took a moment to balance himself. The alien warrior took advantage of this to press his attack Following upward through his parry the Vong brought his staff down onto the Jedi's saber and began to advance.

On he pressed and Jek let him gain more and more ground, backing up further and further, until;

A sudden burst of red light came from his right, glancing off the thick armor over the Yuuzhan Vong's chest. As the alien turned to face the new threat, another blast from the determined commando hit him full in the chest, leaving a crater in the stunned alien's armor. Then Jek finished the job by bringing his amber blade around in a decapitating blow.

Oli had been pressing her opponent hard. Waves of frustration and anxiety poured off of her. Jek could feel her impatience at being delayed in their search for the lost Jedi. She fought with an urgency that was impressive, as if every second she spent dueling her opponent moved Borrak and Trask that much further into danger. Jek relished for a moment each wave of emotion that he felt emanate from her, before catching himself and casting such feelings aside as he returned his thoughts to the task at hand.

Just then, Oli made a fatal error.

Jek felt it before it happened. For the next few moments time seemed to move excruciatingly slowly. The Yuuzhan Vong Oli was dueling made a move as if to strike at Oli's right flank. Oli parried the week blow handily, set her feet and lunged in a counter-attack aimed a the Yuuzhan Vong's heart. He used the momentum of the parry to turn on the spot, letting Oli's lunge carry her past him. Then he plunged the sharp tip of his staff into her back.

All feeling seemed to go out of Jek. His face slackened in horror before tightening up in anguish. Making no sound, for he found himself unable, he charged the perpetrator of this vile act and swung his blade through his neck.

As the Vong fell lifeless to the ground, Jek fell to his knees and cradled Oli's limp body in his arms. She looked up at him, her breathing labored and liquid, blood trickling from her mouth and her eyes rolling slightly in their sockets. All color was drained from her face. His eyes went from her face to the wound in her torso that matched the one on her back, where the alien weapon had entered. Oli reached up a hand weakly and he clasped it and brought it down in his over the wound in her torso. Fighting to empty his mind and concentrate, he reached out and touched the Force.

And hoped.


	5. Chapter 5

Bendao Shrii savored the feeling of anticipation he felt at receiving the word that a party of Jedi Knights had infiltrated their encampment. He had longed to test himself upon so worthy an opponent. Soon, he himself would join the fray in the caves and would personally rid the galaxy of those obstacles to Yuuzhan Vong dominance. Still, there was the matter of holding the planet, and though he was sure that, even so depleted as it was, his force would be sufficient against the Jedi, with a full battalion of Republic troops backing them up he felt to err on the side of caution. He would ensure that, come what may, this route to the heart of the Republic would be left open to the advancing invasion.

He reached out one hand and affectionately stroked the fleshy pod in his other hand. Immediately the villip turned itself inside out and assumed the exact shape of the face of Commander Issrai Shrila.

"What news have you from planet Nahmee?" inquired Shrila.

"The Jedi are here. We have engaged them," responded Shrii.

"Good. And...?"

Shrii's face curled up in disgust. "We've suffered losses. The Jedi's arrival seems to have fanned the flames of resolve among the Republic soldiers on the planet."

"It would not be prudent to let the planet fall through our grasp now. The push to the enemy capital must not be halted," said Shrila.

Shrii stiffened slightly. "I will personally see to the Jedi's removal from our path."

"Good. I would hate for our failure on Nahmee to rest on your shoulders. Reinforcements have been dispatched. See to the Jedi and I will see to the capture of Nahmee."

"As you wish, Commander," said Shrii and the villip returned to its usual form.

--------

Borrak Creyn was still seething when he felt an all too familiar presence intrude on his private anger.

"Trask," said Borrak simply without turning to see him.

Trask Gorand took in the tableau before him; the other Jedi, his back turned to him, in the center of a room that seemed itself to glow intensely, the altar with the curious objects on it, and, most startling, the holographic representation of the Jedi Master floating in the air above.

"What are you doing?" asked Trask with an air of unconcern.

Borrak didn't answer. His breath came hot and fast as waves of anger and annoyance seethed through his body. He didn't shunt off the heat of his animosity towards Trask, but rather let it cool to ice in his veins. This was one of the dark places Master Du'ur had told him he would have to tread, one of his deepest pains that he would have to confront. One that he would conquer.

"So, you don't want to talk, huh? You'd rather just shut yourself into your own little world and not have to face up to anything? Figures." Trask didn't make any effort to hide his contempt. "You were always spoiled, coddled and cradled, right from the start. No one ever made you face up to anything, no matter how many times you botched things up. Not this time."

Trask moved around Borrak to look him in the face, their noses centimeters from touching. "There's no one here to coddle you now." Trask moved to the altar and regarded the small black pyramid lying there and the holographic Jedi Master above it, looking down his nose from slitted eyes at this new visitor.

"Who are you?" asked Trask boldly.

"Get away from there Trask," warned Borrak, his passion bleeding Force power into his words.

Trask snorted. "Who are you?" he repeated to the Gatekeeper.

"I said, get away!" exclaimed Borrak and with a _snap-hiss_ his lightsaber ignited and he pointed the azure blade towards Trask. His anger was a barely controlled torrent, and it rippled lazily through his robe and mussed his already un-kept black hair.

Trask looked stunned for a moment, then smiled and let out a chuckle. Without a word he too ignited his verdant blade and brought it up in one hand, looking down the blade into Borrak's eyes. For a moment they stood there, neither speaking nor yielding to the other in any way. The air between them seemed charged with the Force, and it practically sparked between them like lightning's forked tongues striking with devastation from a storm to the planes below.

Borrak was the first to break the silence. "My fight is not with you," he said, and lowered his blade slightly. His anger didn't leave him, rather it cooled still further and he savored the sensation as it coursed frigidly through his body.

"Surprising," said Trask simply. "Mine, however, is."

Trask swept his blade through a long arc and the two blades crackled and popped with energy as they collided. The Force exploded between them, as vibrantly and violently in its own invisible way as the burst of energy released in the collision of the two shafts of light..

Hrisk Du'ur, silent up to that point, now let out a slow, rumbling laugh.

--------

Silently, the hulking mass that was _The Glory of Yuuzhan'Tar, _an example of the impressive miid ro'ik warships, approached planet Nahmee, situating itself in a low orbit, so as to disburse its concourses of warriors onto the planet's surface. Issrai Shrila, commander in charge of the effort to drive a spear into the Republic's heart, observed the operation with satisfaction. His warriors were not only trained, but were born and bred for this. He had no doubt of their fearlessness nor their competence.

Soon the Jedi would fall, then Nahmee, and then Coruscant.

As Shrila watched, a group of a dozen coral skippers soared by to take up defensive positions near the warship's bow. He marveled at the grace of the fighters, at the sturdiness of their yorik coral construction. He relished the moral superiority that his race enjoyed over the unholy mix of races that made up the Republic, with their blasphemous use of non-organic machinery, and his resolve to eradicate them grew to white-hot intensity.

Truly, the magnificence of such a thing as the devastating miid ro'ik warships, the enormous worldships, or even a craft so simple as a coral skipper, was awe-inspiring. A truly harmonic, symbiotic relationship between living, feeling beings. All parts grown, shaped, bred, raised, to fulfill their diverse functions in the pursuit of a common goal. From the dovin basals to the maw luur, every piece had it's place, each one indispensable, and each part was interconnected, drawing life and giving life one to another.

How the creatures of this galaxy could defile themselves with such unholy melding of life and machine, incorporating the un-feeling, un-caring contraptions, cold and condemning, into their everyday life, was something that was beyond grasp. He awaited with anxious anticipation the arrival of Republic forces. If by their machines they would live, in their machines they would die.

Suddenly the villip at his side gave shutter. Picking it up he gently caressed the eversion stoma and the fleshy pod inverted on itself and assumed the shape of Bendao Shrii.

"Commander, we have engaged the Republics forces. The Jedi are not among them," said Shrii.

Shrila felt sympathy for Shrii run through him for a moment. He knew how anxious Shrii was to face the Jedi in battle, for he felt the same. Still, it was a pleasure that would have to wait. He was about to give the order to simply eradicate the heretics, but withheld on an impulse.

"Hold them off, but for the moment do not kill them all. Allow them to communicate their predicament. The Jedi will be there presently."

--------

Rin Vel, the commander of the Republic soldiers now charging through caves where the Yuuzhan Vong surely awaited wore a grim expression. Things had gone rapidly down-hill since their successful ambush of the Yuuzhan Vong outside the cave mouth. Now they were on a lantern-lit search for a lost, and possibly dead Jedi. What was more, they had no way of knowing how many Yuuzhan Vong remained in the cave. It could have been a dozen or a hundred. They would only know when they met them.

Torch light played off the walls ahead and shadowy figures were just visible as they passed rapidly in front of it. Commander Vel held a hand up to halt his men's charge. Slowly, cautiously, he crept forward towards the opening into the cavern ahead.

_Nearly there..._

Out of nowhere a hulking Yuuzhan Vong warrior swept around into the opening and knocked away Vel's blaster with a strike from his staff. Vel struck out at the alien and caught him in the temple with swift back hand. The alien reeled and snarled and then brought the sharp end of his staff up into Vel's belly.

"Take cover," were Vel's last muttered words to his troops before he fell limp and lifeless to the stony ground.

His men scattered, searching for cover. Two of them remained in the corridor, firing off tandem volleys in quick succession at the new threat. The Yuuzhan Vong shrugged off the blaster bolts, charged the left-most commando and dispatched him with a jab from his impossibly sharp amphistaff. Then he spun around, disarmed his second foe, and brought his staff down in a swing that caught the commando from right should to left hip.

Intense volleys now came from the remaining commandos who had successfully found cover. The commandos fire was too much for the alien's vonduun crab armor, which exploded into pieces under the waves of concentrated light. Before he went down, however, the alien reached forth his amphistaff which spat a stream of deadly venom, catching the foremost commando on the face. The man went down, writhing and screaming and grasping at his face in a vain attempt to rid himself of the fiery venom which had now seeped into his pores.

One of the commandos fished out his comlink and sent off a hasty message to the Jedi, whom he desperately hoped would be in a position to be able to come to their aid. Then, the commandos charged towards the opening into the cavern and began to fire.

--------

Jek did not need the Force to know that Oli was fading fast. He felt her body slacken in his arms and her eyes fluttered and closed. But Jek did have the Force, and couldn't help but feel the life-force slipping from her, though he longed for an instant to shut himself off from the feeling. It felt as if a glorious light were going out, as if he would never feel the warmth of day again and all would be cold, hard darkness, forever. Each slender tendril of life force that bled away from Oli seemed to cut through him with the sharpness of the amphistaff that had pierced through the beauty in his arms.

Struggling to reach past his anguish, Jek finally latched onto the Force's flow. He felt it run cool, and pure, into him, quickening his life's essence, making him alive. Reaching out, he discovered the tremulous flow of the Force through Oli, ever so fragile, liable to be broken once and for all at any moment.

The Force seemed to flow through them in parallel paths, as if both stood in a stream, the water flowing into them from the mouth of the fount above. With tenderness and the utmost care not to disrupt the flow of the Force that kept them both alive, Jek reached out and diverted its flow, letting it channel through him into Oli.

A tremor ran through the woman dying in his arms. Jek's heart skipped a beat as he thought he might have lost her. He nearly lost his grip on his delicate concentration as he opened his eyes for just a moment to glance down at her face for any sign she was still living.

Her body had tensed and her eyebrows were knitted in concentration. Jek re-entered his trance and felt his life-force flow over her, rebounding off of her like water off of a rock in the stream. He felt her reach out weakly through the Force, struggling to grasp onto the life-force running from him.

His heart swelled and he smiled hopefully, holding her tighter to himself.

"That's it," he muttered. "Just don't leave me."

She tensed further and her face tightened with the strain. Jek could feel her determination ripple through the Force and it buoyed him up.

"That's it!"

With a groan of effort Oli diverted the flow of the Force through herself, and melded it into perfect harmony with Jek's. Suddenly it felt as if flood-gates had been opened and in an instant his life-force ceased to rebound off of her and was suddenly flowing fast and strong into her being. Jek felt pure joy surge through him and channeled more and more of the life-giving Force through himself and into her. As he did, he felt her flow into him.

Suddenly, where once they were as two rocks in the same stream, they were now a stream unto themselves, flowing into each other in a constant, unbroken cycle that felt as though it would never end.

Now the flow of life within the once dying woman felt strong to Jek. He could feel her live. He could feel the blood now flowing strong in her veins, returning color to her beautiful face. He could feel the flesh under their clasped hands reform perfectly under his touch. Physically, he felt her warmth in his arms and he opened his eyes to see her brown eyes gazing up at him, the light of life full in them and a little smile on her face.

In an instant and with the flow of the perfect harmony which had joined them, their lips met in a kiss as deep as the Force itself.

Jek felt alive again. He hadn't realized the darkness into which his world had just plunged. He had felt the affliction that had come upon Oli as if he himself had been stricken by it. Now that the force of life flowed strong within her, he felt as if life had returned to him as well. He relished in the joy of having her close to him, in the feeling of her lips against his, of her ebony curls in his hands, of her warmth.

As he looked into her face he felt her hand come up to brush away a tear he had not realized he had shed.

"I thought I'd lost you," he confessed breathlessly.

She smiled, a sight which Jek thought might be the most beautiful his eyes would ever see. "Never," she responded with a firmness that made him believe it.


	6. Chapter 6

Tense energy filled the chamber as the two wills and their corresponding lightsabers clashed. Violent bursts of energy rumbled through the caves like thunder and the air sizzled with the ethereal energy wielded by the dueling combatants.

They spun and twisted, struck and parried, the passion of what was once simply a mutual dislike, which had long festered and now been twisted and galvanized into cool hatred, running through their every move. The malevolent presence of the cave fueled their conviction in their disdain for one another, and their self-righteous resolve to make the other pay for debts they imagined were long over-due.

Heat boiled in palpable waves off of Trask Gorand. He felt that justice itself called for him to teach this rotten whelp the price of Jedi Knighthood and of life itself. His resentment at the other apprentice for never having that price demanded of him was reflected in each blow that he aimed at him.

Borrak Creyn, on the other hand, felt no heat of passion whatsoever. Instead, he felt cold animosity run through him. He finally saw Trask for what he was; an obstacle to be surmounted on his path towards achieving the greatness which was his destiny. He discovered that Trask didn't matter, but was now simply a sharpening stone against which he could hone his newly found power. He cared not whether Trask lived, or whether he simply died by his blade.

In truth, he was now grateful for the way Trask had treated him. Trask had always said what Borrak now knew everyone else, even Jek, had thought. His words now served to fuel Borrak and push him forward to silence that criticism and surpass the expectations of those who never truly believed in him.

Borrak parried a swing from Trask's verdant blade and countered with his own azure shaft of energy. He marveled at how the icy-blue of his lightsaber's blade matched his own cool intensity. He was surprised at how easily it all came to him now. Reaching out, grasping at thoughts and intentions like a Coruscanti Hawk-Bat swooping down to grasp its prey in razor-sharp talons, Borrak felt every move Trask made before he made it. He smiled as he felt the maddening frustration of the other man boiling off of him.

In desperation Trask's attacks suddenly intensified. They came harder and faster than before. Borrak now began to feel panic seep into his consciousness and merely raised his saber up in front of him, hoping thus to fend off the other apprentice's furious attacks. Trask, his saber in one hand, batted Borrak's out of the way and brought up his free-hand in a hard hook that caught Borrak painfully in the jaw, knocking him to the ground.

"You spoiled brat!" shouted Trask at his fallen opponent. "You've had everything handed to you! You don't think I know who you really are? The son of Ilraq and Valari Creyn. The son of a Republic Senator and a Judge of the Interplanetary Judicial Council. You practically walked into the Academy and haven't had to do anything for yourself since!"

"What do you know about my parents?! Nothing!" exclaimed Borrak as he got to his feet. "How would you feel if you were the least important thing in the galaxy to them? How would you feel if you were just an ancillary part of lives already filled to overflowing with so many of the cares and concerns of entire worlds that they have no room for you? How would you feel if they were never there?!" Now the heat came. Borrak felt anger boiling up inside of him. How dare Trask make such ignorant assumptions about Borrak's tainted childhood?

"You know nothing," Trask hissed through gritted teeth and leapt at Borrak, bringing his blade down towards him in a two-handed swing aimed to dissect the other man. Borrak caught the attack on his own blade and the two blades locked together in a tense stalemate, the two combatants standing toe-to-toe. "My parents are dead," snarled Trask.

Borrak felt a wave of horrified sympathy run through him briefly and his grip on his saber slackened slightly. Trask pressed ever the harder and his blade neared the flesh of Borrak's face. The smell of ozone filled his nostrils and he felt the immanence of Trask's lightsaber bearing down on him. In a panic Borrak reached out with the Force and summoned Hrisk Du'ur's inert lightsaber from its spot on the altar. Its veridian blade exploded into life in mid-air, like a washed-out mock of Trask's green blade. In one swift motion Borrak caught the saber's handle in his right hand and brought its deadly blade down in a sweep through both of Trask's wrists, effortlessly severing the hands still gripping his lightsaber's handle.

Borrak stood back in a horrified stupor as Trask fell, screaming, to the ground, separated so violently from his appendages. Hrisk Du'ur let out a gleeful cackle in a surprisingly high-pitch that cut through Borrak with the deftness of his last lightsaber attack.

"You have done well, my apprentice. You have tread into the dark and have conquered one obstacle, but you have yet more to overcome before you may emerge into the dawn of your full power." Hrisk Du'ur looked viper-like as he smiled, exposing elongated, obviously predatory canines.

Just then, another all-too familiar presence flooded the cavern. Now Borrak's anger turned white-hot and threatened to consume him. All thoughts of the confrontation of a moment ago, of the wounded man writhing on the ground before him fled his mind as one thought pervaded his consciousness; _Betrayal!_

Silently, Hrisk Du'ur's lightsaber in his right hand, his own azure blade in the left, he turned to face his Jedi Master.

And saw Oli Breen, the object of his obsession, at his side.

--------

Jek Va'lynne took in the scene before him and felt the hot rage pour off of his apprentice like a wild-fire. At the feet of his apprentice lay Trask Gorand, prone, clutching in vain at one hand-less stub with the other. Behind him stood the holographic representation of a Jedi Master, who seemed himself to exude a dark foreboding as Jek had never known mere holograms to be capable of.

Both Jek and Oli had sensed the disturbance in the Force, ripples of anger, frustration, and angst, caused by their apprentices' swordplay. They had dashed back through the caverns, through the passageway that wasn't there before, following the waves of rage right to the scene now before them. They had felt the explosion of pain and fear ripple from Trask and now stood in horror looking down on the crippled young Jedi.

The deeper wound, however, Jek felt on Borrak's soul, like a rent in the Force, dark and festering.

Jek knew of the two apprentices' mutual disdain. It was not so surprising that his apprentice might lash out upon his persecutor. However, Jek was not prepared to feel the waves of pure, unadulterated rage directed on him by the tall, black-haired youth he had tutored for all this time.

In worry and disarray, he looked down towards the raven-haired woman at his side, who wore an expression of deep concern and confusion to match his own. Instinctively, it seemed, her hand slipped, both reassuringly and seeking reassurance, into his.

Borrak's rage exploded like a super-nova. Such was the heat and intensity of it that Jek almost didn't feel the coming attack. It was as if Borrak attacked with the sun at his back, blinding, searing light obscuring his movement. At the last moment Jek leapt out of the way of Borrak's lunge. He set his feet just in time to dodge another slashing attack from his enraged apprentice.

Refusing to draw his lightsaber on Borrak, Jek ducked a slash aimed at his head and then leapt over a return slash aimed to bisect him. Somersaulting over the other Jedi, he landed, set his feet, and leapt backwards in a flip that carried him out of the way of another furious slash.

Borrak charged, lunging and slashing with all the precision of a maddened rancor, and Jek continued to duck and dodge. Waves of anger and frustration seethed through Borrak's being. His every thought was to hurt Jek, to cause him pain, to pay him back for his betrayal. This desire consumed him with a bestial rage that left no room for any other thought, rational or otherwise.

His frustration was reaching the point of madness and his blows came ever more wildly with every one Jek dodged. Rage boiled within him. He had to make Jek pay. Somehow, he had to inflict upon him the pain he had felt for so long now and had always covered up.

Suddenly Borrak couldn't stand it any longer. His rage seemed to claw at his skin like a caged animal fighting furiously for release. He obliged. Reaching into himself he mustered all of his pain, all of his rage, all of his hatred, and reached forth a hand to unleash it.

Azure tongues of lightning licked forth from his outstretched hand, striking his Master with thunderous intensity. Jek went hard to the ground, smoke wafting from his singed flight-suit. Borrak quickly ran up to his Master, still seething, and pointed Hrisk Du'ur's veridian blade at his throat. There was a wild quality to his eyes and his breath came hard and fast through clenched teeth.

Jek raised his hands helplessly. Even if he felt he could reach his lightsaber before Borrak could deliver a fatal blow, he would not have done so. The pain he felt inside for Borrak's fall was far more intense than any Borrak's lightning could have caused.

"I...I've failed you, Borrak." Jek's voice was weak and the knot in his throat threatened to keep him from speaking at all. "I tried so hard, I..." he trailed off and swallowed hard before attempting to speak again. "But after all I've tried, now I've lost you as well."

The pain of losing a second apprentice crushed down upon him and he didn't make any attempt to defend himself as Borrak, sneering at his Master's last words, brought his blade down upon him.

A shout of "No!", a _snap-hiss,_ and Borrak's blade came up short, colliding fiercely with an immovable purple shaft of energy.

Borrak looked up, furious at being thwarted, and his gaze was met by Oli Breen's resolute stare.

"So, you defend _him_do you," Borrak spat. "I will not hurt you."

Oli kept up her pressure against the younger Jedi's lightsaber. "I will not let you hurt yourself," she said with righteous conviction.

Borrak sneered. "You betray me too!" he shouted, and brought his lighsaber around in a vicious slash.

From behind the dueling Jedi Jek's comlink crackled and a desperate cry came across it.

"Jedi, we're engaging a superior force of Yuuzhan Vong. If you can hear me, we need you now to either save our souls or recover our bodies."


End file.
